{"podcast":{"title":"Communication Breakdown","slug":"communication-breakdown-7019931","podcast_index_feed_id":7019931,"rss_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/show/6301456/episodes/feed","website_url":"https://ocrnetwork.com/podcasts/communication-breakdown","image_url":"https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/bb1654c4c2ff3f77a3c1f292f51b3d52.jpg","author":"Observatory on Corporate Reputation LLC","episode_count":86,"summary":"Communication Breakdown is a postgame show for PR pros. In each episode, hosts Craig Carroll (Founder of the Observatory on Corporate Reputation, Editor of the SAGE Encyclopedia of Corporate Reputation, Lecturer at Rice University’s Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business) and Steve Dowling (former head of communications at OpenAI and Apple) discuss the strategies and tactics companies are using in high-visibility crises and PR initiatives, giving listeners unique insight into how key decisions are made. The podcast offers two unique perspectives on communications theory and practice, drawing on Craig’s research and teaching on reputation at USC Annenberg, UNC Chapel Hill, and universities worldwide, and Steve’s two decades of experience as a comms leader at some of the world’s most influential companies. Whether you’re a PR professional, marketing executive, or just curious about how companies make key communications decisions, you’ll find these discussions insightful and valuable.","last_synced_at":"2026-06-05T04:21:27.467075+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/communication-breakdown-7019931"},"episode":{"title":"Iran, Earnings, and … TACOs?","slug":"iran-earnings-and-tacos","published_at":"2026-03-05T14:00:03+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/communication-breakdown-7019931/iran-earnings-and-tacos","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/communication-breakdown-7019931","url":"https://www.spreaker.com/episode/iran-earnings-and-tacos--70468258","audio_url":"https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/70468258/ep_73_iran_earnings_and_tacos.mp3","summary":"In this episode of Communication Breakdown, Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll break down two parallel realities corporate communicators now have to manage at once. First, they analyze how the White House communicated the opening days of a widening Middle East conflict, including a late-night recorded announcement, fragmented messaging, and a media environment that instantly swallows everything else. Then they return to the Trump administration’s legal pressure campaign against major law firms, and why “TACO” headlines can create false confidence for risk planning. Finally, Craig shares early findings from a major earnings-call analysis project across roughly 390 Fortune 500 transcripts, including who names Trump, who avoids naming anyone at all, and how executives strategically volunteer some topics while going silent on others. Takeaway Crisis communications credibility starts with format, a recorded midnight message signals improvisation, not command. Fragmented, one-on-one media access can create “distributed inconsistency,” where reporters unintentionally spread conflicting frames. Earnings calls show system-wide alignment posture, in Craig’s sample, only 21 of ~390 companies named Trump, and those that did tended to have something concrete to trade. Topics Mentioned Crisis communication, war messaging, attention economy, fragmented media, narrative control, flood the zone, wag the dog, legal risk strategy, regulatory rollouts, litigation strategy, corporate reputation, stakeholder trust, alignment posture, earnings call preparation, prepared remarks vs Q&A, topic avoidance, tariffs, recession framing, competitive pressure, executive visibility Companies Mentioned Bloomberg, CNN, Truth Social, Paul Weiss, Sussman Godfrey, Fortune 500, Coca-Cola, Intel, U.S. Steel…","meta_description":"In this episode of Communication Breakdown, Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll break down two parallel realities corporate communicators now have to manage a…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1760,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/communication-breakdown-7019931/episodes/iran-earnings-and-tacos/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/communication-breakdown-7019931/iran-earnings-and-tacos.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}